The actors who have played Batman

Batman is one of the most portrayed characters of all time. He’s probably the superhero that has been on our screens most frequently. Several different actors have donned the cowl of the Caped Crusader. Not every iteration of the Dark Knight is cut from the same cloth, either. Here are the actors who have played Batman (and Bruce Wayne, spoiler alert). That includes voiceover work, by the way.

We start with the first Batman. Yes, you may not have heard of Wilson, and that’s understandable. Batman was a serial, which was a series of short films telling an overarching story that used to screen back in the early days of movies, back when a “B” movie was literally a movie that would be shown after the main, or “A” movie. Wilson played Batman in all 15 chapters of the serial, and this Batman is also responsible for changing the way Alfred was portrayed.

In 1949, we got a second Batman serial. This time Robin also got title recognition, as this 15-chapter story was called Batman and Robin. Lowery played Batman, while Johnny Duncan played Robin. The villain? The Wizard. You know that beloved Batman villain, The Wizard, right?

West was sort of the first Batman of record, with all due respect to Wilson and Lowery. He starred in the popular ‘60s TV version of Batman. This was a different iteration of the Caped Crusader because Batman ‘66 was a comedy. West killed it in the role and returned in the 2010s to voice Batman in two animated films, one released posthumously.

West was the first Batman to star in a feature-length film. It was not a huge hit, though. Tim Burton’s Batman arguably birthed the modern superhero boom. It was a massive hit, but that was not a given. Keaton’s casting was controversial. He was a comedian who had just co-starred in Burton’s Beetlejuice. Keaton worked, especially as Bruce Wayne. He starred in the sequel Batman Returns as well.

When Keaton hung up the cowl, somebody had to step in. Enter: Kilmer. Funnily enough, he had risen to fame thanks to comedy movies, too, but he was considered a serious, brooding actor by the time he starred in Batman Forever. Kilmer felt out of place as Batman, though.

Even Clooney has poked fun at his turn as Batman. The nıpples on the suit weren’t a great idea. Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin wanted to be campy like the old ‘60s TV show, but where that show excelled, his movie failed. Clooney would be just fine, but this was a setback for his career.

Nobody has played Batman more on the big screen than Bale. He starred in three films as Batman, all under Christopher Nolan. They managed to bring Batman back from the Batman & Robin brink, though Bale sometimes got overshadowed by his villains.

By the time Affleck played Batman, he had been a massive movie star, saw his career dip, and then had a resurgence. His Bruce Wayne was supposed to be a bit older. He was also supposed to have his own film, which Affleck would direct. That never happened. Affleck played Batman in a couple of movies, including Justice League, but he never seemed happy in the role.

There have been a lot of animated takes on Batman in film and television. If you are a fan of animation and the Dark Knight, you have almost definitely heard Conroy’s voice. Conroy first voiced The Dark Knight in Batman: The Animated Series. He’s now voiced Batman in 13 films and hundreds of television episodes over multiple shows. Conroy is the quintessential voice of Batman.

Greenwood first voiced Batman in 2010’s Batman: Under the Red Hood and has voiced him a few times since. However, Greenwood had a successful live-action career before he ever played Batman. You can see the character actor in movies like I, Robot, Star Trek, and National Treasure: Book of Secrets, where he plays the President.

Weller is forever RoboCop…or maybe Buckaroo Banzai. That said, he has quite the voice, perfect for playing Batman. Weller voiced Batman in the two-part movie The Dark Knight Returns.

When a direct-to-video Batman movie is made, Conroy gets the call. If it’s a DC Animated Universe film, you’re probably hearing O’Mara. He voices the Caped Crusader in several Justice League films and a couple of Superman movies. By the way, O’Mara is Irish, so he has to tamp down his natural brogue to play Bruce Wayne.

Smith is a big-time voiceover actor, specifically in video games. He voices Chris Redfield in the Resident Evil series of games, and he’s the current voice of Sonic the Hedgehog. Interestingly, Smith crosses the rivalry boundary, as he has voiced both Batman and Marvel’s Captain America in multiple projects.

There are a lot of Lego animated movies starring Batman and the rest of the Justice League. Baker is the go-to voice for Batman in all those films. The voiceover actor was also recently in the two-part adaptation of The Long Halloween. However, he doesn’t voice Batman in those movies. He voices Joker.

Giuntoli was one of the stars of the supernatural NBC show Grimm. He’s voiced Batman once in Batman: Soul of the Dragon. That was in 2021, so maybe it’s the first of many for him.

Ackles needs no introduction to some TV watchers. He was one of the Winchester brothers on the beloved show Supernatural. He’s voiced Batman once, in the aforementioned The Long Halloween adaptation. Before that, he voiced Jason Todd — one of several Robins in Batman lore — in Under the Red Hood.

Sisto first got on many people’s radar with the ‘90s classic Clueless. These days, he’s on CBS’s FBI, making plenty of money, and that’s good for him. He voiced Batman once, and it was in a Justice League movie called The New Frontier. Sisto was also in the animated movie Batman vs. Robin, but he played Talon.

Billy has the Baldwin family’s trademark raspy voice, perfect for playing Batman. Although, he’s only done it once. Baldwin lent his voice to Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.

In the ‘90s, Bader was one of the faces of silly comedy. He was on The Drew Carey Show and had a memorable turn in Office Space. Bader has voiced Batman a few times, including in the series Batman: The Brave and the Bold. He’s also the voice of Batman in the very raunchy Harley Quinn.

If Batman was trying to catch Dexter, could he do it? We don’t know. What we do know is that the man who played Dexter voiced Batman in 2015’s Justice League: Gods and Monsters.

Usually, on Teen Titans Go!, Batman and Commissioner Gordon just giggle. In the movie adaptation of the show, Batman actually got to talk. Kimmel, the longtime talk show host, voiced Batman in the fittingly titled Teen Titans Go! To the Movies . Also, Nicolas Cage finally got to play Superman.

Mount could have been a big success in the world of superheroes, but then the Marvel show Inhumans was a massive flop. The actor got a chance to dip his toe, or at least his voice, in the superhero world again by voicing Batman in 2021’s Injustice. However, Mount seems a little busy for superheroes these days. He plays Christopher Pike in the new Star Trek universe.

Arnett was a lot of fun as Batman in The Lego Movie. That was enough to get him a shot at a full Batman movie in The Lego Batman Movie. It was a huge hit and, again, quite enjoyable. Arnett’s take on Batman is sillier but with plenty of gravel in his voice.

Gotham was sort of about Gotham before Batman, but he’s around. Mazouz plays kid Bruce Wayne in a city rife with younger versions of Penguin, Catwoman, and the ilk. As time passes, Bruce starts to do some Batman stuff, which gets Gotham on this list.

Remember all those Superfriends cartoons that Hanna-Barbera made in the ‘70s and ‘80s? That Batman voice was provided by Soule. A prolific (but often uncredited) actor, Soule voiced Batman for 15 years. That includes when Batman popped up in Scooby-Doo, by the way.

From 2004 to 2008, Romano voiced Batman on the kids' cartoon The Batman. He had that role for 65 episodes. Romano also lent his voice to the Curious George show around the same time for 80 episodes and also voiced Lone Starr in that short-lived Spaceballs cartoon.

Seth Green’s Robot Chicken seems like a low-budget, insular affair. He and his friends provide most of the voices. In the three DC comics specials that Robot Chicken did, Green provided the voice for Batman. Does it sound like Green doing a Batman impression? Sure, but that’s kind of the point in that world.

Ferguson is a successful “additional voices” actor, popping up in small roles on dozens of shows. In the cartoon DC Super Hero Girls, he has provided several voices for a handful of characters. Ferguson has voiced Batman, Robin, and Alfred on that show.

We end with the big new name in the Batman world. Pattinson has stepped into the role on the big screen. After Twilight, Pattinson showed his bona fides as an actor. Now, he’s ready to step back into the world of franchise filmmaking. The early returns are promising. The Batman has grossed over $770.8 million worldwide as of September 2022.